Time to Expire by Chris Ramos

Author:Chris Ramos [Ramos, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orange Hat Publishing
Published: 2015-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

PRAETOR

Nimbus sat quietly in his chambers, legs crossed, breathing methodically through his meditation routine. In this relaxed state, eyes shut lightly, he thought of the past, replaying events that shaped his company, seeking insight from his failures and planning new ventures.

The entrance to his study opened slowly, and his assistant’s head peeked into the room. Looking around and finally seeing Nimbus on the floor, she blushed slightly and began to withdraw.

“Enter.” Nimbus opened his eyes as he turned his head towards the door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but there seems to be an urgent message from the Praetor in Sector 655, sire.” She stood taller with each word, as if the delivery of important information made her most proud.

Nimbus rose slowly, in perfect balance, and smoothed the front of his loose fitting meditation tunic.

“That will be enough. I shall take the call.” Nimbus waved his hand in the air, a gesture of brushing away a small fly. His messenger understood the meaning and instantly ducked back into the hall and closed the door softly behind her.

Nimbus walked calmly from his study to the main chamber. It was a spacious conference room, the walls carved smooth and painted a pearlescent white. The sunlight softly filtered through the shades, accenting the walls and enlivening the color by producing a slight shimmer.

The room was dominated by a huge slab of granite, low enough to the ground that those attending his meetings would be required to sit with their legs folded underneath the table. This made for an uncomfortable setting, but Nimbus didn’t want them comfortable. If they were content to lounge around his assembly room all day, nothing would be accomplished. The single grand chair at the end was for Nimbus only. He sat above anyone at attendance, like the sun watching the weeds beneath him.

He sat at the head of the table and tapped on the arm of his chair, revealing a hidden storage box that had opened into the crook of his arm. There was a single harmonic bud that he placed in his ear for privacy.

“Report, Praetor,” Nimbus said.

The bald head of the LifeSpan Praetor appeared in the middle of the table. The hologram was a digital representation of the Praetor and did not move but only rotated slightly, expanding from a headshot to the full body of the Praetor in his complete regal clothing. The outfit was not unlike a Collector’s usual garb, except his was immensely more elaborate. The edges of his trench coat hems were carefully decorated with images of dark, rolling clouds, and the shoulders were stitched with a golden thread, showing concentric circles running over and under his arm. His lapels were crisp and ran the length of his torso, ending at points just above his knees. At the top of each lapel, there were three concentric rings embroidered, a signal of his ranking. The collar was stiff, standing a few inches off of his collarbone.

“Thank you for a timely response, sire. There was a disturbance at the LifeSpan Division Four building that was unusually .

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